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Name: Leigh Barth
Email: leighbarth@aol.com
Age: 49
Occupation: software engineer
NumberOfCruises: 2
TravelAgent: No
Ship: NCL-Dynasty
SailingDate: July 14, 1998
Itinerary: Alaska Inside Passage
FoodDiningRoom: 90
CruiseDirector: 85
CabinComfort: 85
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 85
CabinAmenities: 87
FoodLidoDeck: 83
DiningRoomService: 98
CabinQuietness: 92
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 90
ShoreExcVariety: 86
FoodVariety: 95
DeckService:
ShoreExcValue: 85
GoodForHoneymoon: 80
CasinoStaff: 80
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 80
LoungeService: 85
TenderService: 85
GoodForSeniors: 95
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 79
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 88
EntertShowLounge: 88
OverallPortsofCall: 85
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside:
CruiseActivities: 93
Casino: 82
AirSeaProgram: 90
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 95
EmbarkDisembark: 95
DiscoNightclubs: 80
DeckSpace: 95
Stabilization: 82
ShopsOnBoard: 80
SpaceRatio: 90
OverallCruiseValue: 90
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 26 Aug 1998
Time: 20:59:01
Remote Name: 205.188.192.183
Remote User:
Comments
I had read many reviews on NCL ships prior to our cruise.
However, the Norwegian Dynasty has been in the NCL fleet for
under a year, so there was not
much information available on this particular ship. Well, it
turned out to be very nice indeed. With a capacity of 800, it is
on the small side but we found it
to be just right. Our cabin with a large window on deck 4 was
small but adequate. The closet and storage areas could have been
better. Our cabin
steward Fernando was unobtrusive and efficient. He changed the
towels twice a day and brought ice every evening. The bathroom
was very clean and
there was always plenty of hot water.
The dining room was super. Sometimes you would hear engine noises
but they were simply something to remark about, not bothersome.
The food was
really wonderful to my surprise. Almost everything was good or
very good; and true excellence could be found at every meal. We
found that our waiter
Mustafa always pointed us to the best dishes. We were in a family
party of 10 (my 70-something parents with their 4 children and
spouses) so invariably
somebody found something wonderful and the rest of us would get a
taste or order one or two more servings of the good thing in
question. On the first
formal night, the appetizer was escargots and those who like it
said that it was the very best they'd ever had. We ended up
having all you can eat ----
our wonderful waiter Mustafa and bus boy Felix just kept bringing
out more. A few of the really outstanding dishes: the creme
brulee, some of the cold
fruit soups, especially blueberry, prime rib, halibut, salmon,
and the salads. We ate dinner every night in the dining room,
late seating. The only
unfortunate thing about the dinners was that the wine steward
seemed to be dishonest. My father took care of ordering the wine
every night, and we had
usually 3 or 4 bottles. One night he ordered a second bottle of
the red wine and realized afterward that the second bottle was
not the same as the first.
So the next night he paid more attention to what was transpiring
and discovered that the wine steward was bringing a less
expensive wine than ordered
but charging the higher price!! Needless to say he was not happy
and he watched things closely the rest of the week. The maitre d'
seemed to have no
purpose; he came by a couple of times and talked about the
weather and the sights in the town we had visited that day.
The Chocolate Buffet was a disappointment ---- very pretty, but
weak on the taste. We did not stay up for any other late buffets.
The salmon bake on the
outside decks the day we visited Hubbard Glacier was wonderful.
The glacier was spectacular --- it is not possible to capture the
magnitude and splendor
on camera.
We had buffet breakfasts and some lunches in the Marco Polo
cafeteria. The breakfast menu was the same every day, except
there would be one made
to order item, and that alternated between omelets and Belgian
waffles. Most of the food was good, but a little more variety
day-to-day would have been
nice. There were not enough coffee cups and people often had to
wait to get one. Also there was no place to set your tray when
you were getting coffee.
In the casino. The minimum amount to play at the poker and
blackjack tables was $5; we were disappointed that there were no
$3 tables. The smoke was
a distraction for me so I didn't ever stay there long. I was
impressed with the good quality of the blankets that were
available for sitting on the decks when
it was cool. The pool was tiny but never used since the
temperature didn't get much above 70. The 2 outdoor hot tubs were
great and we had them to
ourselves on most visits.
The excursions were good, especially the salmon hatchery and
Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau and the railroad in Skagway. Skagway
was also nice for
shopping, very much geared to tourists and a very pretty little
town. Cordova and Wrangell were typical fishing villages and we
enjoyed going on nature
hikes in both. Seeing Hubbard Glacier was the real highlight of
the trip.
We went to the show three evenings. The first song and dance
night, Hooray for Hollywood was very well done; the ShowStoppers
production wasn't
quite on the same level. The comedian Jim McDonald was really
funny. The couple who sang in Valentino's (Gemini) were second
rate, especially the man.
We participated in most of the exercise classes, including chair
aerobics. Once a class was full and I was not able to
participate; the gym area was pretty
small, but not bad. With the older clientele on the cruise, there
generally was enough space. Leanne the instructor was fun.
Both embarkation and disembarkation were a complete breeze; very
well organized. At the end of the cruise we were bused to
Anchorage and never
had to handle our luggage; only to point it out and have it
ticketed for our flight. Our tickets arrived about 10 days before
the cruise; the air package was
fine; in short, all the organizational aspects of the trip were
done very nicely.
Traveling with a very congenial family group certainly enhanced
our cruise experience, buteven with that being true, I must say
that the Dynasty was
wonderful.
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